Owners have filed 6,306 complaints on the Nissan Pathfinder, covering 1987–2026. The system named most often is Power Train (1,179 reports). Worst years by volume: 2005, 2013, 2006; cleanest: 2026, 1989, 1987. 238 reports describe a crash, 42 a fire, 10 a death. On average the car was 6.0 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Nissan Pathfinder
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 6,306 Pathfinder complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Power Train 1,179 Read
I engage the Parking Botton on shifter, & the vehicle still rolled away from me after I got out of Vehicle
On 6/16/2022 our vehicle did not allow me to pull my boat and trailer up a gravel road hill leaving our RV Park at 31733 Aqua Vita Road, Gravois Mills, MO 65037. A)Front wheels started slipping but the rear wheels never engaged. B)Either the brakes were applied or engine power was derated despite application of the…
The 4x4 never stays engaged. We live in an area where it snows A LOT and depend on the 4x4 for winter driving. We purchased the vehicle brand new and it had this issue. We reported it to the dealership when the vehicle had less than 500 miles on it, within the first few weeks of ownership. They couldn't figure out…
Air Bags 416 Read
I was involved in an accident where another car clipped the back bumper of my pathfinder going trough an intersection. It was enough to deploy my curtain airbags on the drivers side and the seat air bag in the drivers seat, but did minor damage to the back bumper on the drivers side. But, after everyone was out of my…
The contact owned a 2025 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that the ABS warning light had illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, where it was diagnosed that the ABS system needed to be repaired. The vehicle was repaired; however, the contact believed that the ABS system was not calibrated due to the ABS…
I was involved in a multi-car accident on Oct. 7, 2025. During the accident, I slammed on my brakes because the car in front of me was slamming on its brakes. The car behind me pummeled into my Pathfinder, sending me careening into the car in front of me. There was a huge impact on both ends of my vehicle. My face…
Engine 283 Read
I drove up to 16,000 miles and then the engine suddenly made a weird sound. I went to 2 nissan dealerships to check it out and it said it was normal for 2016 pathfinder.but while driving sometimes it will cause a humming noise like a bee and its really annoying, I went to check it out and it said it was normal, what…
Engine malfunction with loss of power occurred while driving. The vehicle entered reduced speed mode which created a dangerous situation for myself and others. This problem occurred 3 consecutive times during an extremely cold day. The code will clear after restarting the engine, but the issue randomly resumes during…
The contact owns a 2025 Nissan Pathfinder. The contact stated that while driving uphill at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle suddenly lost motive power, with several unknown warning lights illuminated. The vehicle failed to restart after the first attempt. After several attempts, the vehicle restarted; however, the…
Engine And Engine Cooling 255 Read
I was involved in a roll over accident and neither the driver or passenger airbags deployed. The side airbags did. The vehicle went head first into the ditch and then flipped over. The vehicle was recalled for the passenger airbag after I first bought it and supposedly "fixed." obviously not. The driver side airbag…
The contact owns a 2014 Nissan Pathfinder Hybrid. The contact stated that while driving up a hill during icy road conditions at approximately 10 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. As a result, the vehicle slid backwards down the hill and crashed into a brick mailbox. The catalytic converter warning light was…
The coolant has mixed up with the transmission fluid, and it is having problems with shifting. I done some research online,and found out that this a major issue with nissan and they are not willing to fix this issue. It says that there a hose leak issue into the transmission. Now m car is sitting I n my driveway,dead
Electrical System 241 Read
Car caught fire when off and parked
Our renter states that the vehicle was great up until the incident. States that they filled the vehicle up with gas around 4pm before parking it just out in front of where they were staying. At 1am they were awoken by a disturbance outside and someone banging on their door telling them they needed to come outside -…
The contact owns a 2014 nissan pathfinder. The contact received notification of NHTSA campaign id number 13V445000 (electrical system, service brakes, hydraulic) and scheduled an appointment with the dealer for recall repairs. Before the contact could have the vehicle serviced and while driving approximately 10 mph,…
Fuel System 215 Read
I had complained to trophy nissan, progressive insurance, wells fargo, and platinum collision about the very problem that I just received a recall about. My complaints were treated as not having merit. I had specifically described the seemingly loss of control on pavement that was slightly rough. I also asserted that…
I request that the DOT NHTSA investigate manufacturer defects in 2007 nissan pathfinders cooling system and transmission as unexpected failure relates to driver safety. My 2007 pathfinder with 90,000 miles caused a major collision with a deer as the transmission began to fail. Driving home, at around 40mph, up a hill…
My 2005 nissan pathfinder hit a metal object in the road with one of the front tires. The object was propelled under the car towards the rear. There it contacted the fuel tank and punctured the tank. This caused 16-18 gallons of gasoline to flow out of the tank. After stopping I had to step through a steady stream of…
Service Brakes 193 Read
I reported the brakes being non responsive on 10/23/17 which had also caused a minor accident as the vehicle was in motion on a bridge in winston salam nc in front of the baptist hospital.it was moving stop and go and maybe would reach 35 mph and then it wouldn't stop. I had both feet on the brakes also standing up…
Brake fade. Coming to a stop brake pedal will fade causing the pedal to touch floor forcing you to let off and reapply the brakes. When stopped at intersection brake pedal slowly goes to floor causing vehicle to start moving resulting in collision with vehicle in front
Vehicle was entering the drive way when the brake peddle went to the floor and the vehicle accelerated. The vehicle went over a patio and struck an above ground pool. The pool was destroyed. The vehicle stopped after hitting the pool and came to rest with the front tires off the wall of the patio.the front right of…
Structure 129 Read
Hit dear was driving at about 50 miles per hour, damaged fog light and fender and started to make noise after started back driving and hit 40 mph
Vehicle roll over which involved a 2001 nissan pathfinder. *mr it was the consumer's opinion the vehicle did not possess substantial weight which was necessary to prevent roll over situations, the vehicle lacked the necessary height to width ratio as well as the necessary mass to maximize the survivability and prevent…
Subframe of vehicle rusted, allowing a hole to form in between engine and passenger compartments. Heat from engine/exhaust systems could cause carpet in the passenger compartment to catch on fire. Please provide any additional information/attachments
Pathfinder years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Back Over Prevention | — | — | |
| 2025 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2024 | Air Bags,service Brakes,forward Collision Avoidance | 1 | — | |
| 2023 | Air Bags | 4 | — | |
| 2022 | Air Bags | 3 | 1 | |
| 2020 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2019 | Air Bags,service Brakes | 3 | 1 | |
| 2018 | Air Bags | 3 | — | |
| 2017 | Air Bags | 5 | 2 | |
| 2016 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 2015 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2014 | Air Bags | 18 | 3 | |
| 2013 | Air Bags | 15 | — | |
| 2012 | Air Bags | 1 | 1 | |
| 2011 | Air Bags | — | 1 | |
| 2010 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2009 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 2008 | Air Bags | 7 | — | |
| 2007 | Air Bags | 11 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 2005 | Air Bags | 12 | 5 | |
| 2004 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2003 | Air Bags | 9 | 1 | |
| 2002 | Air Bags | 10 | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 16 | 2 | |
| 2000 | Air Bags,structure | 6 | 2 | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 11 | 2 | |
| 1998 | Air Bags | 13 | — | |
| 1997 | Air Bags | 15 | 2 | |
| 1996 | Air Bags | 13 | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 1,083 |
| Average complaints per series | 5.8 |
| Worst single series | 69 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.0 years |
A model average of 5.8 hides a worst series at 69. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the Pathfinder?
By complaint volume, 2005, 2013, 2006 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which Pathfinder years are the cleanest?
2026, 2012, 2009 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Nissan Pathfinder have?
6,306 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1987–2026. Of those, 238 describe a crash and 42 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.